When Republicans Go 'RINO'

What is it about some Republicans? They get into office and RINO fever hits them. In other words, they become "Republicans in Name Only" and seem to vacate the principles of the political party they came from.

The poster child for the dangers of Republican RINO fever right now has to be Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. McDonnell only gets one term so he has decided that his signature legacy is going to be a $2.3 billion dollar tax increase that he is going to hit the citizens of Virginia with.

Most people reading this, who do not live in Virginia, probably have the same reaction. This is terrible but it does not affect me because I don't live in Virginia.

You could not be more wrong.

This will have a profound impact on, if not you, then members of your family and friends.

Part of big tax Bob McDonnell's tax increase is a $1.1 billion dollar tax hike on Virginian's purchases on the Internet.

Wait you say! Internet purchases are not taxable unless you live in the same state as the business.

That is true, for now.

Part of big tax Bob McDonnell's tax increase involves lobbying the Virginia Congressional delegation to support legislation in Congress that will create Internet sales taxes.

This is a nightmare.

Currently taxing authority is based on what is called a nexus. If you have a physical presence in a state, the state can tax you. If you do not, the state cannot. The Internet sales tax bill would destroy the nexus test.

Any state, anywhere can tax you for any transaction that involves a resident of that state.

Politicians fantasize about new ways to tax and this is the ultimate dream come true for them. They can increase taxes to their heart's content and never fear the wrath of the voters.

For certain businesses this could be a nightmare. If you live in a desirable area, like Miami in the winter, you may find yourself audited by auditors from Massachusetts who just want to spend a week in Miami to escape the winter in Boston.

If for some reason the auditors in a state do not like your business, they can put you through the wringer.

Don't believe me?

Consider the case of Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh at one point lived in New York City. Eventually he moved to south Florida. He would go back to New York City for a few days every year to broadcast. He was repeatedly audited by New York tax authorities even though he no longer lived there. Anyone think that was not politically motivated?

If the Internet sales tax is ever passed, the compliance issues will be unbelievable. Business will be faced with being taxed in fifty states and having to file tax returns in all fifty states.

For many companies, this will be expensive. Companies like Amazon or Zappos will add this to the cost of their products. The real price will be paid by small businesses that have used the Internet as their great opportunity. Many of these small businesses will be forced out of business.

Contact your Congressman and Senators. I've said this before, if you are not on a first name basis with your Congressman, you are doing something wrong. I don't care which party your Congressman comes from, you should know him or her.

Tell your Congressman and Senators to oppose the Internet sales tax. Tell your state representatives to use the power of your state to oppose any Internet sales tax.

The Internet sales tax has the possibility of giving liberal politicians almost everything they want. It gives them the possibility of ensuring the easy, endless expansion of government.

We must fight the expansion of taxes and we must fight to cut taxes. Cutting taxes is the only way we will ever cut the size of government.

We have a choice, liberty or big government. We cannot have both.

I choose liberty.

Judson Phillips is and attorney and the founder of Tea Party Nation. He lives in Virginia with his wife and family. You can follow Judson on Twitter at @JudsonPhillips